


The Origin of Turkey Ham

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Thicker than Water [61]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Friendship, Holidays, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-27
Updated: 2011-11-27
Packaged: 2017-10-26 14:11:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/284182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This year he wanted to go all out for their first Thanksgiving in their new home.  It was something to be thankful for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Origin of Turkey Ham

**Author's Note:**

> This story is written in the Thicker than Water universe where the BAU are kids and teens. I write in this universe so much just recently I thought that Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson would be the perfect young Jason and Emily after seeing a picture of them. Adam especially has that dark, brooding, adorable Jewish guy thing going on. Once again I can thank vc_forever for going with my obsessiveness. She’s a real pal.

“If we split up we could get it done in half the time.” Emily said as Jason rolled the cart into the fresh produce aisle.

It was early afternoon on a drizzly Sunday, five days before Thanksgiving. Kassmeyer’s wasn’t super crowded but there were shoppers around. The atmosphere was much more relaxed than it would be in a few days. This was the perfect time to get everything for the holiday plus some odds and ends.

“Yeah…”

“I'm sensing a but coming.” She smiled.

“But then we can't hold hands.” Jason replied.

“Really?” Emily looked at him.

“Yes.”

“Aww…” she kissed his cheek and pulled the list out of the pocket of her orange flannel windbreaker. Actually it was Jason’s windbreaker; it was his favorite. He hadn't worn it in the longest because Emily took it hostage. That’s one of the many things a good boyfriend was for. “Well this list isn’t too long. We’ll still make good time.”

Jason smiled, lacing his fingers through hers as he pushed the cart with the other. First would be a bag of potatoes. Jason would make mashed potatoes from scratch. They also grabbed fresh string beans and apples for the apple pie.

“Have you ever made an apple pie before?” she asked.

“No, but I have the recipe. I don’t think it'll be too tough. I'm comforted by the fact that as long as it’s thoroughly cooked I can depend on JJ and Morgan to eat it.”

“So true.” Emily laughed.

They went to find the turkey next. Jason read up on cooking turkey, which he’d never done before. He made chicken for their first Christmas in the old apartment. Last Thanksgiving was more of a low-key thing and he made marinated turkey breasts. This year he wanted to go all out for their first Thanksgiving in their new home. It was something to be thankful for.

The three food magazines he purchased all said one and a half to two pounds of turkey per person was ideal. Since there were seven of them he settled on a 15 pound turkey. If that somehow wasn’t enough, there would still be ham. Jason didn’t eat it but the other kids had no problem with it. He didn’t even cook it; Emily handled it for the most part.

“Are you sure that turkey’s big enough?” a voice asked. “I bet you’ve got a full house this year.”

Jason looked up, smiling when he saw who was talking to him.

“Hey, Mr. Kassmeyer!” he let go of Emily and gave Michael Kassmeyer a big hug.

He used to be in the store more many years ago but had since retired and given full control over to Sam. When Jason was little and would come in with his mother, Mr. Kassmeyer would always have snacks to make the experience more pleasant for the kids. Mrs. Clemmons ran the ‘kid kiosk’, which was still going strong to this day. He was a good man, had raised a good son, and ran a good business.

“How are you Jason? I swear you get taller every time I see you. It’s been too long.”

“I know. I think it was last Christmas.”

“You're right.” Mike smiled. “C'mon down to the farm this year, we open for business next weekend. I'm sure the perfect tree for your family will be there. Who’s your friend?”

“Oh that’s right, you two haven’t met. Mr. Kassmeyer, this is my girlfriend Emily Prentiss.”

“It’s really nice to meet you.” Emily said as she extended her hand. “Jason always says such good things about you.”

“That’s nice to hear.” Mike shook her hand. “You’ve got yourself a fine young man, Emily. He’s responsible, caring, and smart. One day he's going to have everything he worked so hard for and more.”

“Thank you, Mr. Kassmeyer.” Now Jason was smiling.

“He is very, very special.” Emily squeezed Jason’s hand.

“Well you two have a good Thanksgiving. And don’t forget to stop by the farm, Jason. I'm sure Penelope will want a nice big tree to impress Santa this year.”

“She certainly will.” Jason replied. “Have a happy Thanksgiving.”

When he walked away Emily was still smiling.

“There aren’t many men in the world like the Kassmeyer men.” She said.

“No.” Jason shook his head. “This supermarket has been here for over a decade. Its one of the centerpieces of our neighborhood. I find it comforting to still be able to come to places where I came with my parents.”

There were places in DC where Emily went with her family as well. She didn’t have memories like Jason though. She only lived there for nine months when she was much younger and most of it was a blur. Maybe she was too young and clueless to know those times were something she needed to hold tightly too. Maybe her parents didn’t figure they’d die young and needed to make the effort to be with their daughter as much as they could.

Emily preferred to bury her old family and life deep inside of her. Her parents were gone and they had been for years. The connection had never quite been there like it was for Jason, Derek, or Penelope. Sometimes she felt a horrible guilt about that. Other times Emily just reminded herself that her new family had her whole heart and soul. Her life was with them now and she was very happy. With another Thanksgiving coming, her second with the ones she loved, that was important to remember.

“You're far away.” Jason put his chin on her shoulder.

“No, I'm not too far away.”

“Where did you go?” he asked.

“I'm somewhere in the middle.” Emily replied.

“I'm thinking I should know what that means even if I'm a little confused.” Jason raised his eyebrow.

“No.” she shook her head. “I'm fine Jason. We should get this list finished so we can get home though. Oh, I meant to tell you that I think turkey ham would be better to have this year so you can enjoy it too.”

Emily grabbed one and put it in their cart. Jason just looked down at it. He’d never heard of turkey ham, only ham ham. Still, if it had any ham at all in it, Jason couldn’t eat it. Emily knew and respected his Jewish heritage, even if it was more humanistic than religious. What made turkey ham so special?

“I can't eat ham at all.” he replied.

“Its not ham though; its turkey. Zoë told me all about it…her mom has been making it for years. It’s processed turkey, kinda tastes like ham but doesn’t have an ounce of pork. It can be halal, which is good for Muslims but Zoë wasn’t sure if it could be kosher because it’s not from a real animal. I know I'm a horrible girlfriend of a Jewish boy sometimes but kosher does have something to do with slaughtering it, right? Because if Zoë knew that and I didn’t I would be so peeved. Anyway, I told her that it didn’t have to be kosher, just not pork.”

“It’s a fake ham?” Jason looked at her.

“Mmm hmm.” She nodded.

“And it doesn’t have any pork in at all?”

“Not a bit. It’s all the rage now and I think if we introduce it to our family then we can all enjoy everything Thanksgiving dinner has to offer. What do you think?”

“I'm really curious so I’ll be sure to eat some. I don’t even know what ham tastes like so I won't know what I'm missing if it misses the mark anyway. Turkey that isn’t kosher is still better than eating pork. Now we need to find the marshmallow aisle; I don’t want to forget them and I don’t think they're on the list. Morgan is really excited about sweet potato casserole. I told him this year for Christmas I would try my first sweet potato pie.”

“He’s going to lose his mind if you make sweet potato pie.” Emily said.

“I know. It’s probably going to beat out any present I could possibly buy for him. I've been looking at a variety of different recipes; it shouldn’t be too difficult. By the way, turkey ham was a great idea.”

“Don’t thank me, thank Zoë. Mrs. Hawkes is a bit of a health freak so this is the only processed food Zoë’s allowed to eat in her presence.”

“I think I’ll thank you anyway.” Jason kissed her nose. Emily smiled and he kissed that as well. Then they moved on to find the marshmallows.

“You think the marshmallows are in the same aisle as the scooter pies?” she asked. “I always know where to find them.”

“Good plan; that’s the best place to probably start looking. Is there much left on the list?”

“Marshmallows, pie crust, scooter pies, teabags, spices, bottled water, and orange juice. This isn’t our weekly shopping trip; this is just for the holiday.”

“Scooter pies are for the holiday?” Jason asked.

“I’ll have you know that Spencer is very thankful for them.”

“I bet.” He smiled, holding her hand tighter. “Anything you're thankful for this year?”

“We’ll all get a chance to say so around the table on Thursday afternoon. Penelope is already making her list so she won't forget anything.”

“Tell me just one thing, Katya.”

She looked at him. As usual his face looked so kind, so sincere. How did she get so lucky for them to love each other like they did? That dark night in that hot alley, as Emily’s life flashed before her eyes, she never thought she could be so lucky. It stayed in the back of her mind a lot; how good she had it.

She had the love of her life, siblings, friends, and a warm, happy home. A few years ago in the boarding school those were the kinds of things Emily dreamed of. Now it was a reality. While nothing was perfect sometimes it felt like her life really was. No one would ever think an orphan would feel so thankful.

“Well, I’ll tell you two things. I'm truly thankful for the Black Friday chocolate sale at CVS tomorrow. Also, I'm thankful for the possibility of getting a Gap peacoat at a super ridiculous cheap price and that I have the money to do so.”

“Emily…”

“There's more but…” Emily gave Jason a healthy squeeze. “You'll get to hear it on Thursday like everyone else.”

“I'm special; I wanna hear it now.” a smile broke through Jason’s neutral face.

“Let’s finish this shopping. I think a little later I’ll show you just how special I think you are Jason Gideon.”

Now the smile was never going to leave his face. He might look like an idiot walking through Kassmeyer’s with what could only be described as a cheese grin. Jason really didn’t care. He was a lucky guy with so much to be thankful for. The wonderful girl holding on to him as they shopped for their family was very close to the top of his Thanksgiving list.

***


End file.
